Dorothy Meredith

Dorothy Meredith
File:Craftsman's World Dorothy Meredith-112.jpg
Born	Dorothy Laverne Meredith (1906-11-17)November 17, 1906 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Died	Washington County, Wisconsin, US
Alma mater	Layton School of Art, Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee, Cranbrook Academy of Art
Known for	Fiber art

Dorothy Laverne Meredith (1906 – 1986) was an American artist and educator. She was known for her fiber art and abstract watercolor paintings.

Early life and education

Dorothy Laverne Meredith was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 17, 1906, to Ida Simmerling and William Meredith. Her mother was also an artist. She attended Layton School of Art, and graduated in 1927, followed by Milwaukee State Teachers College (now known as Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee) and graduated in 1933 with a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). Additionally she got a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she studied with Maija Grotell. Meredith was active in the New Deal Federal Art Project in Wisconsin.

Career

Her early teaching roles included the Winnebago Day School in Menasha, Lincoln School in Highland Park, and Peckham Junior High School in Milwaukee. For many years she was an art professor specializing in fiber arts and textiles at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. In summers she taught at Ox Bow School of Art and Artists Residency in Saugatuck, Michigan. She later was a professor emeritus at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

In 1965, Meredith traveled to 11 different countries to enhance the courses she taught, including travels to India, Pakistan, Japan. She sought to learn traditional textile techniques in each international region, and she had travelled to rural locations to do so.

She was the secretary and president of the Wisconsin Designer Craftsmen's organization (now known as the Wisconsin Designer Crafts Council). Meredith was one of the founding members of the Wisconsin Watercolor Society. She also was a member of the Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors, and Midwest Designer Craftsmen.

In 1960, Meredith was elected a life fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1975, Meredith was an American Craft Council (ACC) fellow.

Meredith died on July 6, 1986, in Washington County, Wisconsin.